


The Start Of Something New

by Greenhairedninja



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Overwatch, M/M, Overwatch Rarepairweek 2018, ovwrarepair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 20:59:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15227772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenhairedninja/pseuds/Greenhairedninja
Summary: Professor Reinhardt Wilhelm's life has been one filled with many ups and downs. Meeting a bright student in one of his classes might just be one of the biggest changes in his life.





	The Start Of Something New

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 1st day of the Overwatch Rarepairweek 2018 for the prompt:  
> July 9th - perseverance | college au (I chose university because of the age of the characters!)

When Reinhardt Wilhelm had first signed his contract for the teaching position at a well-known international university, he had expected his life to change once more and many new things to happen. The changes that were going to happen, though, were something he could not have prepared himself for...he fell in love.

 

Moving from the city that was his hometown during his time as a student to a new city, even a new country, was a pleasant change of scenery and the first major change in his life in quite a while.

 

His extraordinary doctoral thesis had opened him the opportunity for this teaching position and the possibilities that were now in front of him seemed almost endless. Even though he had always stayed humble about his own achievements, Reinhardt was proud to have his research and the many stressful hours that he had spent on writing his thesis acknowledged in such a way.

 

After the first two years teaching he finally finished his first book, a small project he had been writing since his time back in Stuttgart. Much to his surprise, no one else seemed to see it as a ‘small’ project and the sales figures went through the roof. Never would he have thought that people would be so interested in history and philosophy still, but maybe there was something about an ex-soldier, now professor, writing about his experiences with different cultures and the daily confrontations with life and death when on missions in warzones.

 

As a result to his book being such a huge success, his teaching contract had been extended indefinitely and as a bonus, even though he did not need it thanks to the major sales of his first book, his salary had been raised.

 

Moving from the small apartment he had first gotten when he moved to the city, into a small house he had bought at the edge of town, Reinhardts life was beginning to settle into a pleasant routine. Time passed with him teaching, researching and writing a second book which kept him busy and content.

 

That was until he met  _ him _ in one of his classes.

*****

The new semester had just started and Reinhardt was eager to meet the new students that he was going to teach.

His own background in history and philosophy made it possible for him to teach the lower semesters in almost all of the basic classes that they had to take. Every time he was able to meet young, eager minds who were just waiting to be filled with information Reinhardt found himself reassured that teaching had been the right one decision. Giving these young generations everything they needed so they could mold and form their own ideas, walk their own paths, stand up for what they believe to be right…just like Reinhardt had.

 

The five years he spent with the military had shaped him into the man he was now and they were the reason he would always thrive for will always make him thrive for peace and equality even if he was not able to actively defend the many, many innocent bystanders anymore. Just a couple of weeks before his 23 rd birthday a bomb had gone off right next to Reinhardt and had ended his active duty in the military. Some of the rubble hit Reinhardt directly in the head, causing him to black out and wake up several days later, already back home in Germany in one of the hospitals taking care of wounded soldiers.

 

The shock of having lost the sight in his left eye and the realization hitting him that his career in the military was over had pushed Reinhardt into a dark place.

 

To pull himself out of it, Reinhardt decided to go to university and study. Pulling himself out of the dark place he had let himself fall into, Reinhardt decided to study, honoring the lives of his comrades who had been lost in the same attack that he had survived. Having seen many different places on earth and talking to all different kinds of people, he chose to study history in Stuttgart, his hometown. Over the years his interest in philosophy grew. Having seen enough death and war to contemplate the reason of life, the reason why he was alive instead of his comrades, the choice was an easy one. After finishing his Bachelor thesis he continued studying, taking on the philosophy master study of his university and finishing it a couple of months after his 30 th birthday.

 

Thanks to one of his professors, who also became his doctoral adviser later on, Reinhardt decided to take on his doctoral degree. It took him five years filled with research and writing and not much else, all his free time spent teaching in the bachelor studies of both history and philosophy. not much more than research, writing and the first teaching posts in the bachelor studies of both history and philosophy.

*****

Now, being almost 38 years old, he found himself looking over to the faces of each and every student seated in front of him. Bright young eyes looking back at him with expectations.

 

**“Welcome, students. My name is Reinhardt Wilhelm and I will be your professor for this class. We shall see each other quite a lot these first few months of your study so I hope we will all get along nicely.”**

 

His introduction made the room break out in soft whispers and Reinhardt used the time until the small conversations settled once again to take in the room. He had gotten used to his students whispering and talking, and did not take it personally, knowing his presence is special, as his height and build easily set him apart from most other people. The scar on the left side of his face and the white of his blind eye were usually what people talked about the most.

 

Letting his gaze wander one last time over the rows of students it is suddenly caught by a young man he had not noticed before. His bright brown eyes caught Reinhardt’s blue one, holding his gaze briefly before blinking and turning towards the man next to him, replying to something he had just been asked. Reinhardt took in the sight of the young man, noticing that he was just as different from the rest of the class, his shaved head and darker skin making him stand out in the crowd.

 

And all of a sudden Reinhardt remembered hearing about him; the faculty had been informed that from this year on they would have a monk among the students, who had travelled all the way from Nepal and had gotten into their university thanks to a scholarship. Something Reinhardt did not judge or think about any longer, after all his own university time had mostly been paid by scholarships thanks to the military.

 

Shaking himself from his thoughts and finally moving his eyes away from the young man, he returned his attention to the entire class - after all, there was teaching to be done.

This short moment the two of them shared, holding each others gaze locked like that would be the beginning of the biggest change in both Reinhardt’s and in the life of the mysterious young man.

 


End file.
